Simple Questions regarding temperatures for MacBook Pro

Question

Level 2

190 points

Simple Questions regarding temperatures for MacBook Pro

Hey,

I just bought a brand new Macbook Pro Mid-2012 2.9 Ghz, i7 Processor, 8 GB of ram, and 750 HDD. It's my first Mac I've bought I'm switching over from an overheating windows laptop.

Now my Mac gets extremely hot under light usage. First thing I did is get iStat to measure temperature. I also went into an Apple Store to get diagnostics done to make sure all hardware, sensors, everything is working and that test passed. Although I realized my Macbook never goes down 100F. Is that normal? All I have open is safari, finder, and maybe a few other apps. I've checked activity monitor and don't see nothing to high. So is 100F normal?

Another issue I have is with Chrome. I used Google Chrome a lot on my windows and I want to on my MacBook too, although when using chrome it gets very hot and very high temperatures such as 170-190F. I've stopped using chrome and use safari, and now I'm at 120F. Why does Chrome do that, is there a fix?

Also, when watching youtube videos using flash I also get very high temperatures such as 150-170F.

So are these temperatures normal? What temperature should my MacBook Pro be at? And what are good temperatures to keep my MacBook Pro at, meaning not exceeding it.

I'd love any opinions and helpful responses.

Thanks,

Jai

Posted on Jul 3, 2014 7:18 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Jul 3, 2014 8:11 PM in response to JaiJethani

I have a Early 2011 13" MacBook Pro, have used Chrome exclusively since day 1. Here are my iStat temps in F° at idle for your reference

Reply

Answer 2

JaiJethani Author

Level 2

190 points

Jul 3, 2014 8:36 PM in response to shldr2thewheel

Thank you for your response,

At idle with only Safari on I could go down till 110F.

What are your temperatures when using chrome, and also would you consider my temperatures normal?

Jai

Reply

Answer 3

Jul 3, 2014 8:38 PM in response to JaiJethani

your temperatures are fine. I get as high as 185F while watching videos on Chrome. I do not use Safari. Your mac has an internal thermal sensor that will **** the mac down before it gets so hot it would do damage.

Reply

Answer 4

JaiJethani Author

Level 2

190 points

Jul 3, 2014 9:06 PM in response to shldr2thewheel

Don't you think 180F is very high, and won't last your mac long?

Because I really want to do last this notebook at least about 5 years and running at 160+ constant is not going to let it last long right?

Thanks again for the reply,

Jai

Reply

Answer 5

poikkeus1

Level 4

2,474 points

Jul 4, 2014 12:25 PM in response to JaiJethani

I share Jaijethani's concern. I'm sure shldr2thewheel knows that he's doing, but with an early 2011 MBP, you need to be very careful about temperatures. I wouldn't want you to fall prey to pricey repairs:

http://logicboardmac.blogspot.com

Reply

Answer 6

JaiJethani Author

Level 2

190 points

Jul 4, 2014 12:56 PM in response to poikkeus1

Yeah, I'm sure he knows what he is doing as well.

Although, I'd still like to know if my temperatures are normal, or not and on what temperatures I should be using at.

I also wanted to see other people's temperatures on their MacBook Pro's to see how mine's doing, as mine is brand new.

Thanks for the replies, expecting some more. 🙂

Reply

Answer 7

poikkeus1

Level 4

2,474 points

Jul 4, 2014 1:14 PM in response to JaiJethani

There isn't a "normal" temperature for a computer, since every user does different things.

If you use your computer for email and web browsing, a temp of around 90-110•F is typical; as I type, it's 102•F. Light compression and burning CDs/DVDs may will bring your temps to around 120-125•F. Heavy compression of data will leave you at 160-170•F. Video streaming can raise the temperatures even further, but I never, ever let my temps go above 160•F for any reason.

On my computers, I haven't noticed much difference between Mac browsers, temp-wise.

Reply

Answer 8

JaiJethani Author

Level 2

190 points

Jul 4, 2014 1:36 PM in response to poikkeus1

Yeah I know there isn't a normal temperature but I meant an ideal temperature to keep it running at, which you did answer to thanks.

But here's the deal, I only have been web browsing so far not even mail, and I never go beneath 115F. Especially when using Chrome, my CPU get's used a lot and I reach unto 170F when using chrome, but on safari I can go down to 125F for web browsing only. As we speak I'm on 128F.

Is there anything wrong?

(I forgot to add that when I took it into an Apple Store, one of the geniuses told me not to use chrome as its eating up CPU and heating my MacBook and told me to use Safari, if I wanted to run my MacBook cooler)

Reply

Answer 9

JaiJethani Author

Level 2

190 points

Jul 4, 2014 2:13 PM in response to poikkeus1

Here is an iStat Screenshot when I just have Safari, and maybe 2 other apps open.

Reply